


Afterwards

by Jade_Dragoness



Category: Royal Pains
Genre: Coma, Community: hc_bingo, Gen, Hurt/Comfort, Season/Series 04, Spoilers
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2012-12-14
Updated: 2012-12-14
Packaged: 2017-11-21 03:03:29
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,269
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/592714
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Jade_Dragoness/pseuds/Jade_Dragoness
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Post s4e14 - Hank is hurt and Evan is freaking out.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Afterwards

**Author's Note:**

> Written for hc_bingo prompt - Coma. 
> 
> Please be aware that my medical knowledge comes from abusing the internets, therefore I'm no expert and often just make stuff up.

Evan burst through the double doors of Hampton’s Heritage, frantically looking around before he rushed the nurse’s station. “My brother!” he gasped. “Hank Lawson! He was brought in.”

“Sir, you need to calm down.” The nurse behind the station desk gave him a soothing, professional look which he couldn’t help but rate at an 8, not quite up to HankMed standard. A little too condescending. 

Evan took a deep gasping breath, held it for frantic second and tried again. “I‘m looking for my brother. His name is Hank Lawson. He was brought in here. I got a call from--”

“Evan!” 

Evan jerked his head to stare wide-eyed at Paul Van Dyke. Evan practically leapt at him, clutching his shoulders. “My brother?! Where?! Is he okay?! How bad is it?” Evan shook Van Dyke until the other man shoved him off, staggering Evan back several steps.

“He‘s alive!” Van Dyke shouted back. 

“Oh, thank god,” Evan whimpered. The relief was a wave which crashed over him, making his knees buckle. His vision grayed out. 

“Damn it.” Evan heard Van Dyke say as if from a great distance as he felt himself get dragged and plopped down onto one of the various hospital waiting chairs. Van Dyke’s hand forced Evan’s head down between his knees. 

Evan panted, coughed and gulped for air and, at times, what felt like all three at once. Van Dyke’s hand remained a steady weight on the back of his head. Once the dark tunneling stopped and the wooziness in his head tapered down, Evan risked raising his right hand up into the air. “I‘m-I’m okay, I think. Yeah, I‘m okay.”

Van Dyke’s hand lifted so Evan could pop his head back up. He glanced at him, and maybe it was the fact that he’d gone through the whole ‘bunny’ incident with Van Dyke, but he could see from his expression that he had more news for him. And Evan probably wouldn’t like it.

“There‘s more, isn‘t there?” Evan asked tightly. 

Before Van Dyke could answer, Paige’s voice rang out. “Evan!”

Evan looked up and stood on shaky legs as Paige crashed against him. She wrapped her arms around his neck pressingly bodily against him. He clutched her tightly, drinking in her presence and the scent of her perfume like a balm to his heart. “Divya called me. She said Hank was in an explosion!”

“He was caught very near one which can be as dangerous,” Van Dyke cut in. “He‘s being checked over right now.” Van Dyke’s expression was reassuring, and he grasped Evan‘s shoulder as he looked Evan straight in the eyes. “I‘ll update you when I get the MRI results, okay? For now, all you can do is sit down and wait.”

Paige nodded and took Evan back to the chairs to wait as Van Dyke disappeared down the brightly lit hallway.

*-*-*-*

To Evan it felt like they waited for an eternity and a half to get more news about Hank. Time stretched out as he sat anxiously in the hospital chair, his mind throwing worse-case scenarios at him. Paige remained at his side, although she took over the job of calmly calling everyone in his phone’s address book to update on the situation, especially Divya and Dr. Sacani who were pulling double-duty to cover their HankMed patients. The only call which Evan put in personally was to his father, who’d been with Nuremberg in New York City. They were already making their way back but wouldn’t get in until late in the evening.

Evan had the sinking feeling that his father‘s shocked and frightened voice when Evan had to break the news would haunt him for weeks to come. 

It took a couple of hours before Van Dyke came back with more information. 

“He‘s okay,” Van Dyke said at once. “He‘s ruptured his ear drums, and he‘s got bruises upon bruises but he didn‘t break anything, nor did he get hit with any debris. But--”

Evan stiffened, Paige’s hand tightened around his in reassurance.

“--but when the explosion happened he was very close to it. Too close. The concussive force knocked him back and he hit the ground hard enough to be knocked out.” Van Dyke ran a hand through his hair, leaving it even messier than usual. “The MRI’s scans showed he has swelling in his brain.”

Evan’s eyes widened. “That‘s not good! Brain swelling is never good!” His breathing sped up again until a mouth clasped onto his lips, cutting off his air supply. Paige’s forceful kiss completely distracted him and he gave himself mental whiplash going from freaking out to slightly turned on.

“Pull yourself together,” Paige said firmly as she pulled back. She stared hard at Evan through narrowed eyes, signs of the General in her tone and in her glare.

“Yes, sir! Ma’am!” Evan said at once, as he blinked at her. His hands twitched from his impulse to salute. 

“Hank‘s not in any immediate danger,” Van Dyke added. “He‘s unconscious and we‘re monitoring him. He just needs to wake up.”

“He‘s in a coma,” Paige guess shrewdly. 

Evan closed his eyes tightly, the word ‘coma’ echoing through his head like a terrifying taunt.

“Yeah,” Van Dyke said tiredly. “I‘m gonna tell you the truth here, okay? Comas are tricky things. The human brain is resilient and fragile at the same time. But Hank’s GCS score is a four, which is really good. As soon as the swelling goes down, Hank should wake up.”

“Should?” Evan asked desperately.

“If he‘s not awake in 48 hours…” Van Dyke trailed off. Evan paled. “But I don‘t think that‘s what‘s going to happen, Evan. All the test results came back with good results.”

“Can we see him, now?” Paige asked, before Evan could lose it again.

Van Dyke nodded and gave them the room number before he was called away to help another patient. Evan followed after Paige as she tugged him to the right room. Together, they walked through the door.

“Hank,” Evan said helplessly, at seeing his brother. Hank looked both worse and better than the nightmare images he’d concocted in the last few hours. He had no bandages around his head like Evan had been picturing but there were purple bruises and swelling around his eyes, nose and mouth as if he’d hit in the face with something wider than a fist. 

Paige got him through the last couple of steps and into the nearest chair in the room as Evan stared as his brother. Then she curled her arms around him and joined him in his vigil, refusing to leave his side, sticking with him until visiting hours forced them both to leave Hank behind.

Then she got him through it when his father showed up.

Paige was _amazing._  
*-*-*-*

23 hours and 5 minutes since Evan first got the call that there had been an explosion at Shadow Pond and his brother had been taken to Hampton’s Heritage Hospital, Hank opened his bleary, aching, bloodshot eyes to the sight of Evan, Paige, Divya and his father staring right back at him with the widest grins he’d ever seen on their faces. 

“Welcome back,” Evan said softly. His eyes were damp with welling tears. He choked out, “Never, ever do that to me again, Hank.”

“From now on, do me a favor, son and run _away_ from the explosions?” Eddie added jokingly, as he rubbed at his eyes. Everyone nodded, adding their murmurs of agreement.

Hank blinked back at them in confusion, but considering how serious his family looked, he managed to croak out a thin, “Okay.”

End


End file.
